Investor interest in phase one of Morocco's $9-billion solar power scheme has exceeded expectations with about 200 firms submitting expressions of interest, the head of Morocco's solar power agency said.
The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) has invited bids from investors interested in building a solar power station near the southern town of Ouarzazate with a capacity of 500 megawatts (MW), or enough to power about 90 000 homes.The number of reactions hugely acceded the expectation with over 200 entries in total. Interested companies include power utilities and management and financial groups.

The next stage in the bidding process would be for the companies to fine-tune their bids and submit them for pre-qualification next month. Final bids are to be submitted in November and the winning bids will be named by the end of 2010.
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Morocco's solar plan involves building five power stations, which will account for 38 percent of the country's installed power generation by 2020. Morocco also aims to export surplus electricity to Europe via Spain, where it has a power market trading licence that allows it to sell electricity.